Monday, July 23, 2012

Municipal Waste/Toxic Holocaust - Toxic Waste [Split]

While many believe that this whole "thrash revival" has begun to die down, there's still no denying that the fanbases for both Municipal Waste and Toxic Holocaust are both very much alive, and that has resulted in this long-awaited split between the two biggest bands in the NWOTM movement. "Toxic Waste" consists of four tracks total, two from each band, and while I don't usually try and weigh each band against the other in terms of quality, there is a clear superior on "Toxic Waste."

Municipal Waste

Unfortunately for the Waste, I haven't been able to enjoy much of their post-"Hazardous Mutation" material. That album was exactly what I love about the NWOTM, it was fucking fast, catchy and intense, however their last three efforts have declined in quality quite a bit. Their last effort "Fatal Feast" was mediocre at best, so I approached the two songs that they have on here with quite a bit of skepticism. Well, these two songs "Trapped in the Sites" and "Mourning Sex" both mirror my opinions of their other recent efforts. There's a mix of decent and generic riffage with subpar vocals and everything in between. Municipal Waste just doesn't have the excitement or insane energy that they had on incredible tracks like "Unleash the Bastards" and "The Thrashin' of the Christ" anymore.

Final Rating - 3.75/5 or 75%.

Toxic Holocaust

Unlike Municipal Waste, Toxic Holocaust has delivered yet again, and that's mainly due to the genius of Joel Grind. Many people complain that these guys are repetitive, generic, stale, etc, but there isn't a single new thrash band (other than Warbringer) that is consistently this good with everything that they do. "We Bring Em Hell" is nothing more than some derivative metalpunk riffage, midpaced headbangers and a catchy chorus, but it will be stuck in your head. "Altar-ed States" is a fast, thrashy track that was actually a bit better than some of the songs on the band's most recent modern masterpiece "Conjure and Command." Long story short, if you're a fan of Toxic Holocaust's previous works, then there's no reason you won't thoroughly enjoy this.